The estranged husband of a woman whose body was found in a shallow grave has been indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury.

Daniel Donald DeWild, 39, is being held as a suspect in the death of Heather Jean DeWild, a 30-year-old mother of two who disappeared in July 2003, according to the Jefferson County district attorney’s office.

Daniel’s identical twin, David Norman DeWild, and David’s wife, Mary Roseanne DeWild, 50, were also indicted. All three, arrested Wednesday morning, are being held in the Jefferson County jail.

Heather DeWild disappeared a week before her final divorce hearing.

“How thrilled we are that something finally has happened after all these years,” said Jean Stahl, Heather’s grandmother. “Hopefully justice will come from it.”

According to the indictment, released to the media Wednesday, Daniel DeWild had told investigators that Heather dropped off their children — ages 3 and 5 at the time — at his Edgewater home July 24, 2003, and left. Heather and the children had been living with her parents during the divorce process.

Her body was found six weeks later, on Sept. 4, west of Golden in a shallow grave just off westbound U.S. 6.

Heather’s body, found in the same clothing she had on the day she disappeared, was wrapped in trash bags secured by duct tape.

According to the indictment, a witness in the early-morning hours after Heather’s disappearance saw three people around a body in the general area where her body was eventually found.

Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said police investigators and his office had remained dogged in the case over the years.

“Through the diligent effort of many, we were able to get it to a point to present it to a grand jury, and we got an indictment,” he said.

The case was first presented to the grand jury in August, and the jury returned the indictment Friday, Storey said.

A task force of investigators, including one with the DA’s office who worked on the case full time, took a fresh look at the case, Storey said.

“It was pretty much a matter of circling back and being determined,” he said.

Two days before Heather went missing, Daniel DeWild went to her parents’ home in Arvada with a card and flowers in an attempt to reconcile his marriage, the indictment said.

Spurned, he left “angry” and then set up a “ruse to get Heather DeWild to come to his home” a couple of days later. Daniel DeWild lived with his brother and then-Roseanne Knowles. Heather brought their children to the Edgewater house, and her 5-year-old son later told investigators that his parents “were fighting,” but he didn’t know why.

The three suspects “subdued” Heather and “removed” her from the home, the indictment said.

“In addition, Heather De Wild’s car and body were then disposed of . . . and a code of silence was put in place,” the affidavit said.

Investigators believe one of the suspects drove Heather’s Nissan Sentra from the Edgewater home to dump it near a greenbelt in Wheat Ridge; a second suspect followed in a different car to ferry the driver of the Sentra back to Edgewater; and a third suspect stayed at the home to watch the two children. Heather’s mother picked the kids up later that day.

Stahl, the children’s great- grandmother, said she has been worried about the kids over the years, in part, because Daniel DeWild had visitation rights and would get them on weekends.

“I’ve always had trouble even speaking about this,” she said. “It’s such an emotional thing for me.”

Heather’s parents, David and Carole Springer, have custody of the children. They could not be reached for comment.

On July 30, 2003, investigators came up with a positive “decomposition search” on David DeWild’s brown Chevrolet Suburban. The next day, Knowles married David “just in case something happens” and “so I couldn’t testify against him,” the indictment said.

The Sentra was found Aug. 4, 2003, and investigators said a scent lineup for bloodhounds showed that Daniel DeWild was the last person to drive the vehicle.

Daniel DeWild, David De Wild and Roseanne DeWild are each being held on a $1 million cash bond.

The suspects were each indicted on one count of first-degree murder after deliberation and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Kieran Nicholson covers breaking news for The Denver Post. He started at the Post in 1986, at the old building on 15th and California streets. Nicholson has covered a variety of beats including suburbs, courts, crime and general assignment.

More in News

The Denver Art Museum plans to funnel a $25 million one-time gift into the estimated $150 million budget for renovating its iconic North Building in time for the structure’s 50th anniversary in 2021, officials announced Thursday.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, a vocal critic of substantially increasing the minimum wage and an opponent of rules that would make more workers eligible for overtime pay, as head of the Labor Department.